ENERGY: Update on the deployment of EU
monitor team in Ukraine

The
monitoring team has held a technical meeting this morning with the Ukrainian Gas
Transmission System Operator UkrTransGaz (UTG) and with
Naftogas on the modalities for the deployment of the monitoring
mission.

The Commission's monitoring team has decided to divide its task in 5
groups. Two groups are going to be sent to the Eastern border of Ukraine,
to the two main areas where most of the entry points from Russia to Ukraine are
located.

The first team is going to the region near Sumy, by road
transport, and are ready to leave soon. A second team will leave to
the region near Novopskov to monitor the entry points in that area.
This team may leave by plane also soon. A third team will stay in the main
dispatching center of UTG where they will contrast the information received from
the entry points. A fourth and a fifth team will be sent to the western
part of Ukraine to monitor the exit points in the area of Uzhhorod.

The Team Leader, Filip Cornelis, has just arrived in Russia to
discuss with the Russian counterparts the modalities of the deployment of the
monitoring mission.

The Commission team in Ukraine has been reinforced by a new group
of 12 experts that arrived today at 1am Brussels time to Kiev. The total team in
Ukraine is currently composed by 15 experts + 2 Senior Commission
officials.

A mission with further 3 experts and 2 Senior Commission officials is
in its way to Moscow.

This is all the information we can
deliver at this point in time on the monitoring mission. If there are further
developments they will communicated by esPRESSo.

Important for TVs: there are images that can be already downloaded on
EBS and some more to come. EBS crew is in the field providing images regularly.